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Sheeran the No. 1 artist on Spotify

English pop star Ed Sheeran has become the most popular artist of the moment on Spotify as he prepares to release his next album.

Data from the world's most popular streaming service on Friday showed Sheeran with 42.2 million monthly listeners, which means nearly half of Spotify's 100 million users played his songs.

He toppled R&B sensation The Weeknd, who took the crown in December after his Starboy album came out. The Toronto singer had in turn ended a reign of nearly seven months by his sometime mentor, the rapper Drake.

The Weeknd has fallen to third place and Drake to fourth, with the New York electronic dance duo The Chainsmokers entering second place.

Spotify's monthly data gives the number of people listening to an artist's songs, regardless of how many times each played a particular song. - AFP